WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
Three men have been charged in Germany with collaborating with one of Russia's intelligence agencies and possibly plotting to kill a person, the federal prosecutor's office in Berlin said today.
The men were arrested in a "particularly serious case" on June 19, 2024, in Frankfurt, and have been identified as Robert A, a Ukrainian citizen, Vardges I, an Armenian citizen, and Arman S, a Russian citizen.
Their full names have not been released in accordance with German privacy regulations.
"The espionage operation was presumably intended to prepare further intelligence-gathering operations in Germany, which could possibly lead to murder," the statement said.
According to German prosecutors, in early May 2024, Vardges I. received an order from a Russian intelligence agency to spy on a man living in Germany who was fighting on the side of Ukraine as part of its armed forces in its ongoing war with Russia.
To carry out the order, Vardges I. recruited Robert A. and Arman S., who are accused of trying to lure the man to a meeting in a cafe in central Frankfurt with the intention of identifying him and gathering additional information about him.
Because the man had previously been in contact with German police, the meeting never took place, the prosecutor's office said, adding that the three men remain in custody.
The indictments against them, filed on May 16, are part of a series of similar cases across Europe in which citizens of Ukraine and other countries have been accused of working for Russian intelligence.
Western officials have accused Russia and its allies of carrying out dozens of attacks since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - from poisonings to sabotage to cyberattacks and espionage.
Russia has previously been accused of trying to assassinate people in Germany in connection with the war in Ukraine.
